Journal October 2026 Special DISPUK Release_Full Version - Flipbook - Page 72
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How Journalists Can Tell Stories Without Making Sources More Vulnerable
Olivia Nepper Winther, DISPUK
As a journalist, you are trained to communicate. But when the work involves
speaking with and telling the stories of sources in vulnerable positions, many find
that they lack the tools to prevent the source from ending up even more
vulnerable or re-traumatized than before the interview. That is why, together with
psychologist Lasse Offenberg, I have been offering a course in recent years at
DISPUK for journalists, documentary filmmakers, and communicators seeking
professional development in working with vulnerable sources. One practice from
this course that many of the participants—and I as a journalist—have carried
forward is writing outsider witnessing letters to the sources. In this article, I9ll
share my reflections on why it makes so much sense to bring the narrative
perspective into journalism—and how outsider witnessing letters can serve as a
counterbalance to the loneliness and shame many sources experience after an
interview and in connection with publication.
